OGUNDIPE VICTORIA IDOWU NULAI/ OSIWA Pre Trial Project Self Reflection.
My name is Ogundipe
Victoria Idowu, a 400 level clinician from the University of Abuja Law Clinic
and my major experience on the NULAI/OSIWA Prison Pre Trial Detention Project
began with a pre-prison visit workshop at Ivories Hotel
in Gwagwalada which broadened my knowledge on the project and it created the
big picture of what to expect and how to handle it. I learnt a lot of skills
and values which was helpful and applied during the project.
We were all grouped into
teams after the workshop, in which I was in team 8 (team inside out). I enjoyed
the teamwork, I learnt a lot from my team members such as client interviewing
and many other indispensable things.
On Arrival at Kuje prison,
I was at first nervous to meet with the detainees but at the same time I could
not picture why my heart was heavy. After series of arrangement and waiting,
two detainees were finally assigned to my team to be interview
Interacting with the
detainees was very significant to me majorly because it was my first time of
doing such. At first I thought it was going to be very easy but I got to
understand that inmates at times could be crafty because they want to leave the
prison.
I observed a lot of things during the project,
among which are; issues of bail, inhumane treatment of the detainees,
congestion of the prison, improper case filing/ missing case file,
Over-population, Poor quality of food, Lack of adequate health care, Inability
to hire lawyers due to poverty.
Over 90 percent of the inmates are awaiting
trial, 10 per cent are convicts, Prison authorities only provide food for
inmates, they do not provide essential items like bathing soaps, washing soaps,
tissue papers, slippers, tooth paste, tooth brushes, body creams and other basic
needs meant for the survival of the
inmates. There is also Lack (inadequate number) of judges in high Court. It
saddens my heart when I think about all these issues and the type of lifestyle
these inmates were subjected to.
Some of the issues observed
are expatiated below:
1. Overpopulation of inmates
One of the major
problem that makes life very unbearable for the inmates is overpopulation, the
staggering numbers of people awaiting trial has contributed greatly to the
congestion of the prisons. Out of the total number of prisoners, the Pre-trial
detainees make up about 80 percent of the prison population. Majority of those
awaiting trials have been in prison custody for months and some for years.
Overcrowding in
Nigerian prisons is not in terms of space, but in terms of available
facilities, the available infrastructures are inadequate to cater for the
influx numbers of inmates, this makes it easier for the inmates to contact
communicable diseases such as skin rashes, Apollo (conjunctivitis), chicken
pox, small pox, measles etc.
2. Bail
Bail can be defined
as the process whereby a person accused or being charged for the commission of
an offence is released by the constituted authority who is detaining him, on
the condition that he will appear or report to a police station or court or
other identified location in future whenever his presence is required or so
ordered.
It is illegal and
unconstitutional for a suspect to be detained for more than 48 hours by the
police without bail or charging the individual to court. More importantly,
Police bail is free, unfortunately suspects are made to pay a huge amount for
bail before they are released. Those who are unable to pay are frequently
tortured and detained indefinitely.
The police commonly
round up random citizens in public places, including mass arrests at
restaurants, markets, and bus stops. In some cases of blatant deception, plain
clothes police officers simply masquerade as commuter minibus drivers, pick up
unsuspecting passengers at bus stops, and take them at gunpoint to nearby
police stations where they demand money in return for their release. The police
often make little effort to veil their demand for bribes, brazenly doing so in
open corridors and rarely bothering to question those in detention about any alleged
crime. Those who failed to pay are often threatened and unlawfully detained,
and at times sexually assaulted, tortured, or even killed in police custody.
Many of these abuses are perpetuated as a means to further extort money from
ordinary citizens or from fearful family members trying to secure the freedom
of those detained.
Victims of crime are
obliged to pay the police from the moment they enter a police station to file a
complaint until the day their case is brought before a court. The police
officers make money as a condition for bail. Larger number of those in the
prison are the poor who could not afford the huge amount of bail.
Also the police
officers extort money from victims to investigate a given criminal case, which
leaves those who refuse or are unable to pay inaccessible to justice.
Meanwhile, criminal suspects with money can simply bribe the police to avoid
arrest, detention, or prosecution, to influence the outcome of a criminal
investigation, or to turn the investigation against the victim.
One of the inmates
who was interviewed said that the police officers arrested five of them for the
same offence but one was released on bail because he could afford the huge
amount of bail. Police abuse of arrest power and bail conditions contribute to
the congestion of the prison.
3. Poverty and inability to
hire lawyers
This is a major
factor frustrating many inmates and has deprived many of them from securing
their freedom. The high costs for legal services are often well above what the
average Nigerian (let alone minority groups) can afford. As a result many of
them waste up to 10 years in prison (awaiting trials) without going to court.
The lawyer assigned to one of the inmates we interviewed did not show up in
court because he (inmate) could not afford to pay the lawyer.
4. Absence of household items
There is inadequate
or no provisions for essential items
such as soaps, tooth brush, tooth paste, tissue papers, body creams,
detergents, inner wears (pants and singlet), slippers etc, for the inmates.
This simply means that inmates are left to fend for themselves on these
essential items.
The inmate we
interviewed was just smelling all through the interview; he looked unkempt,
flies perching on him, wounds on the body, it was that bad, each time I had to
hold my breath to get balanced.
5. Absence of judges in court
The judiciary are not helping matters also.
Right from the time we started the follow up to court, the court did not sit,
they kept on adjourning the case, making the detainees spend extra time in the
prison.
6. Torture
The torture of
pretrial detainees often begins at the first contact with police and security
officers well before detainees are taken to police premises or other detention
facilities. Some police and security forces employ "capture shock",
the deliberate use of violence during apprehension to disorient the arrestee
and break down his resistance.
It is common
practice among the police to shoot suspect in the legs and feet after they have
been apprehended, to prevent them from fleeing or as a means to make them
confess. The treatment of the prisoner's wounds or lack of treatment then
depend on the detainees’ willingness to confess.
Many if not all are
effectively punished before they are tried. Whereas they are legally entitled
to be considered Innocent and released pending trial, many accused are instead
held in pretrial detention, where they are subjected to torture, exposed to
life threatening disease, victimized by violence , and pressured for bribes. It
is literally worse than being convicted: pretrial detainees routinely
experience worse conditions than sentenced prisoners.
One of the detainees
we interviewed said that he was seriously tortured for weeks, blindfolded and
was placed at gun point to confess to what he did not do and later forced to
sign the statement he did not make.
My participation in the
pretrial project influenced my attitude/ behavior and perspective on what is
obtained in our criminal justice system most especially the practical aspect of
it. And also l learnt a lot of values, ethics and skills.
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